Paul Mills Not Hot Seat

[rjl]

Some people didn't like Marshall his first few seasons because he was a hot-head getting T'd out of games without the win/loss record to show for it. But I recall most people liking what they saw on the court. His teams were scrappy.

What I don't get is in the most recent Eagle article, Mills talks about how they went over the scouting report with the team leading up to the game and he claims the players understood what to do. Game time comes around and the players immediately act like they forgot and do what they weren't supposed to do, turning the ball over.

If so, does anyone recall a player getting yanked out the game immediately after a boneheaded play? That's the first thing I would do. Yank a player, ask them what the hell is going on, remind them of what we coached, let them sit for a bit, then put them back in.

Seems like Mills is just willing to watch his players **** up again and again.

[asiseeit]

Wasn't it Sub or Wu that called us "Fools Gold" early on? Whoever it was they have my respect.

[pinstripers]

Wasn't it Sub or Wu that called us "Fools Gold" early on? Whoever it was they have my respect.

Doc, I believe

[wsushockerdude]

Some people didn't like Marshall his first few seasons because he was a hot-head getting T'd out of games without the win/loss record to show for it. But I recall most people liking what they saw on the court. His teams were scrappy.

What I don't get is in the most recent Eagle article, Mills talks about how they went over the scouting report with the team leading up to the game and he claims the players understood what to do. Game time comes around and the players immediately act like they forgot and do what they weren't supposed to do, turning the ball over.

If so, does anyone recall a player getting yanked out the game immediately after a boneheaded play? That's the first thing I would do. Yank a player, ask them what the hell is going on, remind them of what we coached, let them sit for a bit, then put them back in.

Seems like Mills is just willing to watch his players **** up again and again.

I think you pointed out the reason why most fans are upset with Mills. Here's my take - he's seen them in practice every day for months now. He's also coached a while. I think he'd yank those guys and give them the business IF he thought the guys on the bench could be out there long enough to take the beating without us getting in a massive hole. Unfortunately, I take his lack of doing this as a sign that those guys are awful, and that if we want to stay competitive, we need to keep our core 7/8 guys out there.

[Atxshoxfan]

I'd refer you to the cumulative stats and the fact he almost always has to deal with double teams. Name a 6'6 guy on this team who would produce more as a center on either end of the court? If you know of one please contact the coaching staff asap. For that matter, a player of any height outside of QB who at best can only play 20-25 minutes.

Stats are only indicators. My eyeballs see a weak inside player. Of course he's double teamed almost Everytime he gets the ball inside, who isn't? When he takes so long to make a move, there is plenty of opportunities to double team him. And since he is double teamed so much, as you say, why doesn't he get more assists? I know your answer, poor shooting, but I rarely see him pass out of the lane to a open outside shooter. But I will give him a plus for his interior passes to cutters. Problem is the rest of the team doesn't cut to the hoop.
At any rate KP is a lower echelon big in D1 and will not sniff the NBA or probably even a g league.

[asiseeit]

I'd like to see you focus on the more glaring problem areas other than the center position. Coaching, rebounding, passing, sluggish offense, little ball movement, little player movement, court awareness, downright stupid decision making, FT's, three point shooting, etc etc etc

[CBB_Fan]

I was one of the most vocal opponents of the hire, but all we can do is wait. Paul Mills would not be the coach right now if we didn't ruin ourselves at the AD level, and I'm not talking about his hire. Unlike Brown, Mills has the benefit of time to show what the program will look like when it is truly his.

My pessimism about Mills hasn't gone down a mite, but even I can see that this isn't a roster any coach would try to construct, and I'm not even talking about talent. We limped into the season fielding a roster that couldn't fill the bench with eligible players. The players we do have orbit the gaping hole that would have been Abmas, a void of shooting and guardplay that exposes every hole in our skills.

That said, I am still fundamentally unconvinced in Mills even writing off this season as a culture building year. I haven't seen that culture being built, nor did I come into the season thinking Mill's record was definitely even better than Brown's. There is a reason I preferred candidates with more upside than a single year of winning 20+ games.

At least next year I'm hoping a 3 won't effectively be a turnover for the roster he builds.

[ShockTalk]

I think it's going to be very hard to compare coaches of our past with coaches of our here and now and future.

Player movement is TOTALLY different now. Student athletes of our past were not only learning in the classroom, but also about realities of dealing with coaches (just like future superiors).

I'm not saying it is like what I'm about to state for all student athletes. However, they are becoming "paid entertainers". We're not even sure NCAA is treating all schools alike when it comes to the actual "educational" part. Student athletes can compete with each other to find the biggest bang for getting that buck now, if they have any doubt they can play professionally anywhere. "Hey, I can take those classes at a lot of schools. How much can I get for playing here?"

Yes, I'm being a little cynical and, hopefully, over the top.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

Knew I could wade into this cesspool today for a good laugh.

Let's dig into this a bit more. See attached photo of this team versus a PM team that he brings up with his own recruits who can play his style. Start with Adjusted Tempo - same, year over year. But look at the offense - we're ranked 215 in the country, and his guys at OR were 32nd. Why? Because these categories were better than ours: Effective FG%, TO%, 2P%, 3P%, and FT%. What does that tell you?

To me, it's a skill issue. These guys suck. Last year we had an NBA point guard on our team to facilitate. We're quite a ways away from that. Let him get his guys in - if you thought we were going to have a Jerome Tange level turnaround in one season, I don't know what to tell you.

Well thought out and logical (sane) post. Agreed 100%.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

Lots going on above


As bad as WSU was to start last year… HCPM has said “hold my beer” with this poop show. This doesn’t even get into the fact there was real coaching going on last year and the team improved… by the end of the year there was a lot of complex/well executed basketball that left many of the FHCGM schemes behind.

There is no way you are serious about this??? You think there was coaching and improvement going on last year under IB?? You need to have your eyes checked pal.

[BostonWu]

I think you pointed out the reason why most fans are upset with Mills. Here's my take - he's seen them in practice every day for months now. He's also coached a while. I think he'd yank those guys and give them the business IF he thought the guys on the bench could be out there long enough to take the beating without us getting in a massive hole. Unfortunately, I take his lack of doing this as a sign that those guys are awful, and that if we want to stay competitive, we need to keep our core 7/8 guys out there.

This season is lost. I'd prefer he yank core players for large swaths of games in order to deliver a message and instill discipline. At this point what does it matter if freshman and walkons start playing serious minutes and take 30+ point drubbing? I just don't get this aspect.

[pinstripers]

Does Mills really refer to his notes during a game?

[proshox]

There is no way you are serious about this??? You think there was coaching and improvement going on last year under IB?? You need to have your eyes checked pal.

As someone pointed out above… the shockers were a top 75 team over the last third of the season. The team executed concepts WSU hasn’t done well in decades (fast break execution). It found a zone defense it could rely on - giving it multiple looks for different opponents. Looking back at it… the team was one shooting guard away from being rather salty.

the first ten games were an epic disaster… but on balance the team was noticeably better and implemented a radically different strategy which cannot happen without effective coaching.

[Woodrow]

Some people didn't like Marshall his first few seasons because he was a hot-head getting T'd out of games without the win/loss record to show for it. But I recall most people liking what they saw on the court. His teams were scrappy.

What I don't get is in the most recent Eagle article, Mills talks about how they went over the scouting report with the team leading up to the game and he claims the players understood what to do. Game time comes around and the players immediately act like they forgot and do what they weren't supposed to do, turning the ball over.

If so, does anyone recall a player getting yanked out the game immediately after a boneheaded play? That's the first thing I would do. Yank a player, ask them what the hell is going on, remind them of what we coached, let them sit for a bit, then put them back in.

Seems like Mills is just willing to watch his players **** up again and again.

He yanked Cortes early in the last game after a couple turnovers. He put Bell in.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

As someone pointed out above… the shockers were a top 75 team over the last third of the season. The team executed concepts WSU hasn’t done well in decades (fast break execution). It found a zone defense it could rely on - giving it multiple looks for different opponents. Looking back at it… the team was one shooting guard away from being rather salty.

the first ten games were an epic disaster… but on balance the team was noticeably better and implemented a radically different strategy which cannot happen without effective coaching.

And you think that was the coaching??